“Far be it from me to glory except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”
(Gal 6:14).

Like the Apostle Paul, Padre Pio da Pietrelcina placed at the centre of his
life and apostolic work the Cross of his Lord as his strength, his wisdom and
his glory. Inflamed by love of Jesus Christ, he became like him in the sacrifice
of himself for the salvation of the world. In his following and imitation of the
Crucified Christ he was so generous and perfect that he could have said: “I
have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who
lives in me” (Gal 2:20). And the treasures of grace which God had
granted him so lavishly and unceasingly he passed on through his ministry,
serving the men and women who came to him in ever greater numbers, and bringing
to birth an immense host of spiritual sons and daughters.

This worthy follower of Saint Francis of Assisi was born on 25 May 1887 at
Pietrelcina in the Archdiocese of Benevento, the son of Grazio Forgione and
Maria Giuseppa De Nunzio. He was baptized the next day and given the name
Francesco. At the age of twelve he received the Sacrament of Confirmation and
made his First Holy Communion.

On 6 January 1903, at the age of sixteen, he entered the novitiate of the
Capuchin Friars at Morcone, where on 22 January he took the Franciscan habit and
the name Brother Pio. At the end of his novitiate year he took simple vows, and
on 27 January 1907 made his solemn profession.

After he was ordained priest on 10 August 1910 at Benevento, he stayed at
home with his family until 1916 for health reasons. In September of that year he
was sent to the friary of San Giovanni Rotondo and remained there until his
death.

Filled with love of God and love of neighbour, Padre Pio lived to the full
the vocation to work for the redemption of man, in accordance with the special
mission which marked his entire life and which he exercised through the
spiritual direction of the faithful, the sacramental reconciliation of penitents
and the celebration of the Eucharist. The pinnacle of his apostolic activity was
the celebration of Holy Mass. The faithful who took part witnessed the summit
and fullness of his spirituality.

On the level of social charity, he committed himself to relieving the pain
and suffering of many families, chiefly through the foundation of the Casa
Sollievo della Sofferenza (House for the Relief of Suffering), opened on 5 May
1956.

For the Servant of God, faith was life: he willed everything and did
everything in the light of faith. He was assiduously devoted to prayer. He
passed the day and a large part of the night in conversation with God. He would
say: “In books we seek God, in prayer we find him. Prayer is the key which
opens God's heart”. Faith led him always to accept God's mysterious will.

He was always immersed in supernatural realities. Not only was he himself a
man of hope and total trust in God, but by word and example he communicated
these virtues to all who approached him.

The love of God filled him, and satisfied his every desire; charity was the
chief inspiration of his day: to love God and to help others to love him. His
special concern was to grow in charity and to lead others to do so.

He demonstrated to the full his love of neighbour by welcoming, for more than
fifty years, countless people who had recourse to his ministry and his
confessional, his counsel and his consolation. He was almost besieged: they
sought him in church, in the sacristy, in the friary. And he gave himself to
everyone, rekindling faith, dispensing grace, bringing light. But especially in
the poor, the suffering and the sick he saw the image of Christ, and he gave
himself particularly to them.

He exercised to an exemplary degree the virtue of prudence, acting and
counselling in the light of God.

His concern was the glory of God and the good of souls. He treated everyone
with justice, frankness and great respect.

The virtue of fortitude shone in him. He understood very early in life that
his would be the way of the Cross, and he accepted it at once with courage and
out of love. For many years, he experienced spiritual sufferings. For years he
endured the pains of his wounds with admirable serenity. He accepted in silence
the many interventions of his Superiors, and in the face of calumnies he always
remained silent.

He habitually practised mortification in order to gain the virtue of
temperance, in keeping with the Franciscan style. He was temperate in his
attitude and in his way of life.

Conscious of the commitments which he had undertaken when he entered the
consecrated life, he observed with generosity the vows he had professed. He was
obedient in all things to the commands of his Superiors, even when they were
burdensome. His obedience was supernatural in intention, universal in its scope
and complete in its execution. He lived the spirit of poverty with total
detachment from self, from earthly goods, from his own comfort and from honours.
He always had a great love for the virtue of chastity. His behaviour was modest
in all situations and with all people.

He sincerely thought of himself as useless, unworthy of God's gifts, full of
weakness and infirmity, and at the same time blessed with divine favours. Amid
so much admiration around him, he would say: “I only want to be a poor friar
who prays”.

From his youth, his health was not very robust, and especially in the last
years of his life it declined rapidly. Sister Death took him well prepared and
serene on 23 September 1968 at the age of eighty-one. An extraordinary gathering
of people attended his funeral.

On 20 February 1971, barely three years after the death of the Servant of
God, Pope Paul VI, speaking to the Superiors of the Capuchin Order, said of him:
“Look what fame he had, what a worldwide following gathered around him! But
why? Perhaps because he was a philosopher? Because he was wise? Because he had
resources at his disposal? Because he said Mass humbly, heard confessions from
dawn to dusk and was – it is not easy to say it – one who bore the wounds of
our Lord. He was a man of prayer and suffering”.

Even during his lifetime, he enjoyed a vast reputation for sanctity, because
of his virtues, his spirit of prayer, sacrifice and total dedication to the good
of souls.

In the years following his death, his reputation for sanctity and miracles
grew steadily, and became established in the Church, all over the world and
among all kinds of people.

God thus showed the Church his desire to glorify on earth his faithful
servant. In a short time the Capuchin Order took the steps prescribed by canon
law to begin the Cause of Beatification and Canonization. After examining the
case, the Holy See, in accordance with the norm of the Motu Proprio “Sanctitas
Clarior”, granted the nihil obstat on 29 November 1982. The Archbishop
of Manfredonia was thus enabled to introduce the Cause and set up the
informative process (1983- 1990). On 7 December 1990, the Congregation for the
Causes of Saints recognized its juridical validity. When the Positio had
been completed, there was the usual discussion on whether the Servant of God had
exercised the virtues to a heroic degree. On 13 June 1997 the Special Meeting of
the Theological Consultors was held and gave a positive judgement. In the
Ordinary Session on 21 October 1997, with Bishop Andrea Maria Erba of
Velletri-Segni, the Proposer of the Cause, together with the Cardinals and
Bishops, recognized that Padre Pio da Pietrelcina had lived to a heroic degree
the theological, cardinal and associated virtues.

On 18 December 1997, in the presence of Pope John Paul II, the Decree on
heroic virtue was promulgated.

For the Beatification of Padre Pio, the Postulation presented to the
competent Congregation the healing of Signora Consiglia De Martino of Salerno.
The regular canonical process concerning this case was held at the
Ecclesiastical Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Salerno-Campagna-Acerno from July
1996 to June 1997 and the case was recognized as valid by a decree dated 26
September 1997. On 30 April 1998 at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
the Medical Board examined the miracle, and on 22 June 1998 the Special Meeting
of Theological Consultors gave its judgment. On 20 October 1998 the Ordinary
Congregation of the Cardinals and Bishops belonging to the Congregation,
together with the Proposer, Bishop Andrea M. Erba, was held in the Vatican. On
21 December 1998 in the presence of Pope John Paul II the Decree on the miracle
was promulgated.